Scientists to harness tarantula's insect killing power

Australian scientists want to harness the insect killing power the Australian tarantula after finding the spider's venom is more potent that existing man-made insecticides.

Researchers at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience have found the toxin known as OAIP-1 is lethal to termites and the cotton bollworm.

Research scientist Dr Margaret Hardy says spiders normally inject their prey with venom and scientists believed the venom would not work if the insect only ate the poison.

However this research has proven otherwise.

The team screened toxins from spider venom for oral activity (active when consumed) and isolated OAIP-1, which shows the highest oral activity reported to date for an insecticidal venom toxin.

"Our study indicates it is possible to insolate insecticidal compounds with high levels of oral activity from the venom of spiders and most likely other venomous animals that prey on insects, such as centipedes or scorpions," Dr Hardy said.

One of the major benefits of the research is the possible development of environmentally friendly insecticides.

"When these peptides break down in the environment it is just into amino acids, the same thing that we're made of, when they degrade they're just another carbon store."

"One of the only things that these peptides are susceptible to is sunlight so if you were to spray them on a field for example they would likely be gone by three to four days."

"So compared some of those persistent broad spectrum insecticides these could be a really good option."

Spider venom as an insecticide is still years away from a commercial release but could become part a new selection of insecticides to deal with growing resistance problems.

"I think any insecticide you can have resistance to so we need to be very careful about only using it when we really need to and we need to apply it in the correct amount so we can delay any resistance."

"But the reality is the venom contains hundreds of different components that all act in tandem to allows spiders to eat and feed in some really harsh climates, so I'm not worried about the spiders, this isn't going to effect their ability to feed themselves."

The venom is so potent only small amounts of it in the early stages of the project.

"So the next step is the develop another way to make large quantities of this peptide so you can grow them in 100 litre fermenters and make them on an industrial scale."

The scientists are now looking at the safety of OAIP-1 for non-target organisms, including pollination.